Tintin Forums

I think that’s actually sophistry - “erotic” and ”eroticism“ are defined in sexual terms: “a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such”, so to use either of them is still to highlight the relatoinship in sexual terms.

But that aside, to lead off with, “Of course…”, is to imply that the conclusion is self-evident (I think you’ve actually missed a word out, as you appear to be using “homo-erotic” as a noun, when you may have meant it to be an adjective); the fact is that the point isn’t self-evident to everyone, and just declaring it to be so, doesn’t actually make it so.

You also fail to address a point that has been made in this thread and others: a large part of the debate is that the series is not sexual at all, and does not require such a reading.

Freudian readings are by no means held universally to be valid or valuable; they are fine of you are a Freudian, not so good if you are a Jungian, and fairly meaningless if you look for systems of understanding which are based on scientific method and backed up by double-blind testing and thus don’t rely entirely on personal interpretation. Freud may be right, he may be wrong, but he was terrible for actually providing concrete data to back up his assertions!

Adding a sub-text of sexuality to it – be that heterosexual or homosexual – is potentially an imposition of the individual reader; sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

If applying sexual politics helps someone enjoy the books, or identify with the character(s), well and good. If someone reads the books and sees no sexual dimension to them, that’s fine too.

Amen!

I was about to say what you said Jock, but I couldn't write my thoughs in so elegant way you did. :-)

I do not think that Tintin and Haddock are gays, I just think that Tintin is not interesed in girls yet, and that Haddock is more like a father for Tintin, Haddock just trying to protect Tintin, maybe Herge added a little part of his "father's role" above Tintin to captain Haddock

I was about to say what you said Jock, but I couldn't write my thoughs in so elegant way you did. :-)

Hey, he is the master :)

I believe that Tintin and Captain Haddock are not gay, but instead share a father-son relationship, just like many other members have already said. I dislike the thought of the Tintin stories having any sexual aspects to them. I think that they are stories of true and admirable friendship. As mct16 said, this seemed to be a trend in Belgian comic books that were aimed towards boys at the time, and we have to remember this when examining their relationship. Everyone has their own opinion though, of course. This is mine.

I have often wondered what Hergé would say to the question of Tintin and Captain Haddock's relationship, and how he would feel when asked if Tintin was gay or not.

I remember reading somewhere the assertion that the only reason Herge didn't include many women in the strips was because he held them in such high regard, or at least that it would be disrespectful to use them for comic effect. The relationships left are therefore largely between males. It's little wonder then that some people look to analyse these relationships in certain ways.

But the key thing is evidence contained in the strips themselves.

I think parjanyasen reacted to the abhorrence of the idea of Tintin being gay; rather than be shocked by the idea, it's relatively easy to state the lack of evidence there is for it being true.

Haddock to me was always a loving avuncular figure.

He did mention something along those lines in a television interview.

It is actually quite an interesting relationship. In some way one could see Haddock like a father figure, or maybe more an uncle figure, but in an other way one could even see it the other way round. Despite his age, Tintin often seems to be the more mature of the two as Haddock can be quite immature at times.

While the prevailing opinion is that Tintin and Haddock are straight. I must say as a gay person myself, I see them as much more than friends. I started writing a fan fiction concerning Tintin's past and Tintin/Haddock's not long ago. I feel like if someone would explore the "What if Herge had decided they were gay" what would that do to the series? I kind of feel like many people would abandon Tintin (of course I wouldn't). I feel like many non-gays to really understand all the nuiances would need to understand the gay man of Tintin's time (30's or 40's) to really grasp that idea.

I think the fact Herge left a lot to interpretation is what gives this aspect such an awesome meaning. While many see them as straight, there are those of us who see them as starcrossed lovers. Not to derail the topic, but I hope more gay characters are created to take the spot light as a way of changing old views on people who are of a different persuasion.

Here in Denmark, Tintin is a commonly used icon by the (male) homosexual community. If you go to Aarhus, you will find a life-size painting of Tintin, being the only sign outside the larger of the two "gay bars" in the city.

And why not? An androgynic young male with blushing cheeks, living together with an older sea captain with a big bushy beard (the archetypal "bear"). I can easily see why the homosexual community has "adopted" Tintin as "one of their own" - and I am having a hard time having a problem with it really. It simply can not bother me.

Personally, I could not care less about Tintin's sexuality - neither do I think it was given much thought by Hergé.
Furthermore, I have a very hard time believing that Hergé, born in 1907, raised a catholic, working for a catholic newspaper, being heterosexual and a boyscout (at that time the scout movement was, like most of society, very anti homosexual), would create a homosexual character. It simply doesn't make any sense to me.
Im my eyes, any attempt to "make" Tintin gay, is a mere modern afterthought.

Tintin and Haddock are the archetypical male platonic soulmates, commonly seen in litterature from long before Hergé was born - as early as the Greek tragedies and most likely earlier. It is simply a literary tradition - and has nothing to do with sexuality.